


Rubble of Babel

by waytooshy



Category: Frozen (Disney Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Elsanna Secret Santa (Disney), Elsanna Secret Santa 2019 (Disney), F/F, Incest, Sibling Incest, kristoff is a good cousin, secret santa gift
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-06
Updated: 2020-02-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 05:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22151614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waytooshy/pseuds/waytooshy
Summary: Anna visits her family for Christmas, only to run into an unexpected guest.
Relationships: Anna/Elsa (Disney)
Comments: 11
Kudos: 116





	1. chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OverlordPenguin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverlordPenguin/gifts).



> This story was written as an Elsanna Secret Santa 2019 gift for Overlord Penguin.

Anna knocked on the cold, hard wooden door.

She could hear the footsteps from inside, accompanied by a few swears and what sounded like a possibly fatal crash, before the door swung open, revealing the concerned face of her cousin.

“Anna!” he exclaimed as soon as he saw her, pulling her in for a bear hug that almost cracked her back and knocked the air out of her lungs. “Damn, I thought you weren’t going to make it!” He released her, cupping her face in both of his giant hands to get a good look at her in the dim light. “We couldn’t reach you for an hour.”

He released her, and Anna dropped down from the tiptoes she didn’t know she was standing on, rubbing the stretched skin of her neck. “Yeah, my service died as soon as I entered your county.” She coughed. “Middle of nowhere, huh?”

“Middle of freaking nowhere.”

He moved out from the doorway to let her pass, a wave of warm, gourmet-scented air brushing past him as he helped Anna get her coat off.

“But you had no problems aside from that, right?”

“No, the road was smooth, maybe a little snowed in at some points, but still passable.”

He helped her unwrap from the giant scarf she’d gotten from his mom a few years ago.

“Glad to see you, cous.”

“Glad to see you too, Kris.”

He led her inside the house, through the literal warzone of his younger siblings and cousins playing cowboys–not a very Christmas thing to do, but hey, Anna was not going to stop them, especially if no one else cared–and the slightly older kids moping around on their phones, straight to the kitchen where aunt Bulda was working her magic with a wide array of pots and pans.

Soon as she saw Anna enter, though, Bulda dropped from the stool she’d been standing on and practically ran over to her. “Anna! Dearie, we are so happy to have you here!”

Anna patted her back, feeling her midriff crushed once again in the strong bear hug that was apparently a staple in Kristoff’s part of the family. “I wouldn’t miss it!” she breathed out, looking to Kristoff for help, but he only shrugged as he watched his mother pulverize her further.

She finally released Anna after what seemed like hours, and looked at her closely. “You’ve grown so tall and pretty,” she said, a tinge of pride in her eyes shutting down Anna’s _you mean I was ugly before?_ question before it could leave her mouth. “And so smart, too! Your parents would be so proud.”

And there it was. Those few words that Anna really hoped not to hear, and that were sure to bring tears to her eyes if she didn’t change the topic quickly.

“Thank you, auntie,” she said simply in a small voice, taking a cautious step back. “I hope they would.”

Her voice cracked at the end, but all in all, she didn’t break down.

She felt Kristoff’s reassuring, giant hand on her back.

“Mom, Anna’s surely tired after her trip,” he said quickly, cutting in before Bulda could continue the uncomfortable subject. “Why don’t I get her to the table while you’re working your cooking magic?”

Bulda smiled, then came over to take Kristoff’s free hand in both of hers. Anna briefly reflected how tiny she was next to him, and tried not to wonder what genetic mishap led to the creation of the literal boulder that her cousin was. “You’re a charmer, you know that? Now, get out of here.” She shooed them out out of the kitchen with a wave of the cloth she had tucked at the waistband of her skirt. “And sit Anna close to the fireplace. She’s red in the face from the cold!”

Kristoff rolled his eyes, but at the same time he nodded and sighed _yes mom_ , before putting his paw around Anna’s shoulder to steer her into the living/dining, where most–Anna _hoped_ it was most of them, actually counting them would be as easy as counting flies swarming a jar of jam–of the kids were doing god knows what, screaming and jumping all over the place.

“Family, am I right?” he murmured, gently elbowing her in the ribs as she stared at the scene with shoulders slumped in defeat. “You know, whenever I start missing home too much and think it would be nice to move back in with everyone, I just remember about these rascals.”

Two of Bulda’s youngest ran past them, screaming at the top of their lungs.

“Keeps me like a spell for half a year. Come on, you’re sitting at the Big Kids Table.”

Anna followed him to the sacred land she’d never been allowed when they used to all come here, years ago, when her parents were still around, and–

No. She was not gonna think about it. This was supposed to be a nice evening.

“Ooh, so I’m a _big kid_ now?”

He looked down at her with a smirk. “To me you’ll always be a poopy pants toddler, but mom insisted.”

She threw herself down on the chair he pulled out for her and stuck a tongue out at him.

“Case in point.”

Suddenly, a hellish shrieking–so it wasn’t all of the little demons here _yet_ –erupted from upstairs, and Kristoff’s eyes widened.

“Hold on, I need to take care of that.”

Without waiting for her answer–not that Anna had any, really, too overwhelmed with everything to even think of forming coherent thoughts–he turned around and dashed out of the room, then up the stairs until he was gone upstairs and she could only hear his muffled screams of _what in fresh hell are you doing to her_.

She took a deep breath. Even if he usually claimed they’re just a bunch of annoying boogers, Kristoff loved his siblings. All of them. All of his cousins too, and his cousins’ cousins, and some of his cousins’ children…

Kristoff’s side of the family was _massive_.

Sometimes it struck her how different aunt Bulda really was from her sisters. Gerda, the eldest, never even married nor had children, though she did live with one man and a bunch of dogs for much longer than Anna’s been alive. And then her mother only had her and–

A doorbell ringing pulled her out of that thought, and she sighed in relief. No time for that, no time at all. _Think happy thoughts, you idiot._

The doorbell rang again and Anna blinked, looking around for anyone to like… care? At least acknowledge the sound? But the younger kids were currently busy hog-tying one of the boys or playing dolls dangerously close to the open fireplace, and the teens were mostly still looking at their phones.

Another ring.

Meanwhile, the adult-adults were gathered in Pabbie’s office, helping Bulda in the kitchen or taking care of the youngest children and toddlers, and none of them seemed to notice anything either.

A knock.

Anna sighed. Bulda _did_ tell her once this was her house as well, and apparently Kristoff, currently still busy upstairs, was on door watching duty so nobody else cared about it.

Typical Bjorgmann family gathering.

She got up and slalomed across the room, making sure to avoid all kids and toys alike. A second knocking hurried her up when she finally managed to get through to the corridor, and she quickly skipped across the cold, tiled floor, cursing at herself for not wearing any shoes when she almost slipped and fell in her haste.

She reached the door and pulled on it hard, the hinges whining from the strain and frost outside. “Hey, sorry it uhhhhhhh–”

She froze.

Not from the cold, though the sensation was oddly similar.

Her mouth was still open and she was still making an only vaguely human sound. She made an effort to can it, but it only turned to an almost silent gargle.

She should probably be at least a little self-conscious about that, but the visitor looked equally shocked, equally frozen with her hand still up where she was knocking on the door, and equally unable to speak.

Bulda crashing something in the kitchen seemed to break the spell.

“A-Anna?”

“What are _you_ doing here?”

Elsa looked down to the ground, and Anna almost felt guilty. She didn’t mean to lace her words with acid quite like this, but hey, sometimes your emotions take control. And hers were _a storm_ now.

“I–”

“You know what, don’t answer. I’m not dumb.”

Elsa’s cheeks went red, a drastic change from her being white as a ghost just a second ago. “Alright.” She looked inside, past Anna, then briefly at Anna, then turned to look back to where Anna could only guess her car was parked. She sighed, then placed the giant plastic bag she’d been holding next to an identical one on the ground. “I guess I’m gon–”

“Don’t even _think_ about it,” Anna almost growled. She looked down at the bags, full of wrapped gifts of various sizes, before seizing both in one hand and grabbing Elsa’s wrist with the other to harshly pull her in. “I’m pretty sure Kristoff invited _you,_ not the presents, so you’re going to get inside and spend the evening here with everyone, _capiche_?”

She slammed the door shut with her foot and looked back at Elsa, who seemed to go into an even deeper state of shock. Anna realized what she was doing and let go of her, both of their hands falling limply to their respective sides.

It felt weird, touching her. Looking at her. Talking to– or, maybe more precisely, at her.

It’s been _years_.

“Are you gonna just stand here in your coat or what?”

Elsa made an _oh, right!_ face and quickly began unwrapping herself from a mile-long, signature Bulda-knitted scarf, not much unlike Anna’s. Anna watched her, noting how her fingers trembled as she fumbled with a knot, how she bit down on her lower lip with eyes still cast to the floor, how when she finally shed off her thick coat she could literally see her heart hammer through her beige blouse as it shook her entire chest.

She was shorter than Anna remembered her. Skinnier. Paler. Just… smaller.

With an angry sigh, she snatched the coat from Elsa’s hands. “Go say hello to aunt Bulda.”

Elsa just nodded curtly, still not looking at her as she stepped out of her winter boots and dashed for the kitchen.

x

_Of course_ Kristoff sat them right next to each other.

“Are you okay?” he asked Anna quietly halfway through the (delicious, Bulda really outdid herself) dinner, looking at her with concerned eyes.

He couldn’t have known, obviously.

“Suwe,” she lied around a mouthful of roasted turkey. She was _not_ okay, but damn, was she going to at least enjoy the food. “I’m gweat!”

Kristoff raised his brows, then softly tilted his head in Elsa’s direction.

Anna swallowed, sighed, and, though she really didn’t want to, turned just a bit to look at Elsa at her side.

Her plate was almost unused, safe for a small pile of salad that she’d barely even touched, and she was looking down at her hands folded in her lap.

With another, deep, frustrated and maybe _just a bit_ exaggerated sigh, Anna turned to her fully.

“Elsa.” She poked her in the ribs, and Elsa jumped in her seat before looking at her with genuine fear in her doe-like eyes. Anna swallowed uncomfortably, but didn’t let that deter her. “Eat.”

She glanced to the side to make sure nobody was looking at them. They _had been_ staring intensely not long before, what with the entire _oh Elsa, we haven’t seen you in what? Five, six years now?_ deal, but it did calm down considerably now that everyone was busy talking with each other. She shot a look back at Kristoff as well, but he was getting up, pointing at the kitchen and mouthing something, as if she was supposed to make any sense of what he was trying to say.

She turned back to the trainwreck at her right. “Listen,” she whispered, getting closer to her and instantly feeling Elsa tense up _even more._ “Please, try to act normal. You’re freaking Kristoff out.”

She gave a delayed nod before reaching out for her fork robotically and scooping up some of the salad.

Anna rolled her eyes. “And eat something else too. The turkey’s delicious.”

There she went again. Always worrying about Elsa. She sat back in the chair, frustrated, watching as her sister ate in silence, waiting for Kristoff to get back so she’d at least have someone to talk to.

Their knees were practically touching under the table.

Kristoff _couldn’t have known_.

She’d kept him in the dark for so long. Always telling him they were good, that Elsa was fine, that they saw each other recently, whenever he asked. That Elsa came to visit and stayed for a few days. That she was planning on coming back for good, soon.

All the while she only had a very vague idea where Elsa actually was from her rarely used social media. Last she was aware of, she’d gotten _some_ nice job _somewhere_ in France about a year ago, and that was it. That was all Anna had to work with.

She’d really gotten used to lying to people.

Kristoff got back a few excruciating minutes later, and sat across the table from Elsa, where one of his cousins, whom Anna barely even recognized, vacated a seat to go to hang out with the teens near the fireplace.

“So, how have you been?” he asked, looking square at Elsa, arms crossed on his chest. “Haven’t had time to talk to you properly, yet.”

Elsa swallowed the food in her mouth. “Good. Working, mostly.” She said quietly, and Anna was sure Kristoff couldn’t even hear her on the other side. “I’m transferring to an office in New York soon.”

Anna almost dropped her fork.

“Oh right, Anna did say you were going to come back to the States soon!”

Elsa shot her a short confused look, but she didn’t say anything that would expose Anna’s lie. Or her lucky guess, depending on how you looked at it.

“Well, yeah, had enough of Lyon anyway.” She laughed nervously. “And it’s going to be amazing to just speak English only for a while.”

Anna shifted uncomfortably. This felt more like an official interrogation than a conversation, even if Kristoff was totally non-imposing.

Spoken too soon. “Okay, I’ll be blunt. I can see something’s off with you two,” Kristoff said, his eyes dashing between the two of them. “I don’t know what it is, and I don’t need you to tell me,” he added quickly, putting his arms up as if they were already throwing explanations at him. “But you really gotta figure something out before the end of the night.”

Anna felt a chill run down her spine.

“Why before then?” she chanced a question, though she already had an idea what the answer could be. There was still hope, though. Elsa was certainly busy with her precious work. She surely wouldn’t have agreed to stay–

“Cause you’re both sleeping in my old room.”


	2. chapter 2

The house was already dead quiet when she finally made it up to Kristoff’s room, having had procrastinated on it so much she had a hard time keeping her eyes from closing for long enough not to trip over her own feet.

She opened the door quietly, hoping for two things only. One, that Elsa would be already asleep. And two, that Kristoff _did_ bring in that inflatable bed she’d asked him for. With only a few swears and one instance of Kristoff putting his hands up in defense.

A quick sweeping glance around the tiny room told her neither of those were true.

“Why are you still awake?” she muttered, closing the door behind herself as Elsa sat up on the bed, her head bowed to dodge the slanted ceiling as she put the book she was reading on a bedside table. “It’s 2 a.m.”

“I know,” she answered in the same quiet, defeated tone she’d had for the entire evening. She ran a hand through her loose hair, still damp after the shower she took over an hour ago. “Anna–”

“Don’t.”

She let her shoulders slump. “Kristoff came by about forty minutes ago,” she said, fumbling with the rim of the cover she sat under. “He said he was sorry, but he couldn’t find any more mattresses.”

Anna groaned. “Peachy.”

Elsa bit down on her lip again, before suddenly throwing the covers aside and jumping out the bed, hitting her head on the way. “Sorry, I should just–”

She brushed past Anna and made towards the door, but even with her brain already asleep, Anna’s body acted on instinct.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going,” she hissed, grabbing one of Elsa’s arms before she even had the chance to reach the doorknob.

“I’m just gonna find some space in the living room–”

Anna scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous.” She pulled her back, a little harder than she meant to, almost crashing the top of Elsa’s head into her own chin. “You’ll wake people up. Get back in bed.”

Elsa turned around and looked up–and it only struck Anna now how far _up_ exactly she had to look– when the hell did _that_ even happen?–at her, probably only the second time she actually locked eyes with Anna this night. “Are you sure?” she asked, softly, uncertainty lacing every letter.

“Yeah, I am,” she answered irritatedly, and gave her a gentle push in the bed’s direction. “Just scoot closer to the wall.”

Elsa did as she was told without any further questions, slithering under the cover–one cover, Kristoff? Really?–and rolling over on her side, her back facing Anna as she almost became one with the wall.

Anna let out a long, tired sigh before unzipping her hoodie, kicking off her slippers and then sliding off her sweatpants, until she was standing in only a tank top and boxer shorts in the cold air of Kristoff’s room.

Before she could second-guess herself and do exactly what she told Elsa not to do, as much as it was tempting to just go out and maybe try to lodge herself in a single bed with Kristoff and one of his brothers, she hit the light switch off and practically jumped in the bed. Ignoring Elsa’s quiet, surprised sharp gasp, she slid under the covers and turned on her side, facing the room.

Their backs were touching.

She watched the broken moonlight dance on the floor.

A few minutes passed.

It was so _quiet_.

And Elsa was trembling.

Why the hell was she trembling, it wasn’t cold _under the cover_.

Anna tried to move a bit further away to avoid touching her, but as it was already, she was at a high risk of flying off the bed.

She managed to worm her way maybe half an inch away, her shoulder now on the wooden frame of the bed, her knee hanging in the air, way out of the warm cover, but she could _still_ feel Elsa’s trembling.

“Elsa,” she whispered, kinda heatedly, and the trembling stopped for a second, as if it was politely waiting for a continuation. “Are you cold or what?”

The trembling resumed. “No,” Elsa whispered back, and Anna could barely hear it, muffled by the pillow or cover, and literally said into the wall.

“Then why are you shaking?”

The trembling intensified. “I’m sorry.”

Anna blinked. “No, I mean–” her voice was now louder than a whisper, but still quiet, too afraid anyone on the other side of the wall could hear them in the dead silence. “Not your fault, I guess? But it’s, uh... distracting.”

“I’m so–”

“I told you it’s not your fault,” she murmured, angrily, the cold wind seeping in under the door and the broken isolation of the window now irritating her hanging limbs. “Just… calm down, okay?”

There was a harder shaking for a moment, and Anna could only guess Elsa shook her head.

She grit her teeth. Gripped the cover tighter. Flexed the muscles of her thighs.

No, she was _not_ going to kick her. She was going to be civilized, and not use brute force. Even if she really, really, _really_ just wanted to ki–

With another shake, Elsa let out a choked sob, and Anna realized she wasn’t just being stubborn to spite her. _Of course_ she wasn’t just being stubborn to spite her, why the hell would she even think that in the first place.

So instead she tried to calm down _herself_ and, with some effort, she turned over flat on her back, moved closer to Elsa, then turned all the way over to face her. She moved even closer still, until her own butt was not hanging over the edge of the bed and Elsa’s butt was snug against her pelvis.

She circled an arm around Elsa’s waist, and the trembling stopped.

She was literally stiff as a dead body for a few seconds.

“A-Anna?” she asked, her voice strained, like she was trying to speak with a hand squeezing around her throat.

“Calm down,” Anna muttered into her damp hair, too tired to try and be suave about anything. “I can’t sleep if you just keep… vibrating like this.”

Elsa answered something, but all Anna could hear was a choked sob.

“You have to speak clearer.”

Elsa tensed even more, for just a second, before she started to shake so violently Anna could feel her own bicep contract in trying to pin her down.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, trying to move away from her, but Anna held on steadily. “I’m so, _so_ sorry, Anna–”

Anna sighed, adjusting her grip to hold on to her tighter, her nose lodged deep into Elsa’s hair while her fingers grasped for Elsa’s silky nightdress. “Stop just saying you’re sorry,” she murmured, feeling goosebumps form where her breath fell behind Elsa’s ear. “If you wanna talk about this, then let’s talk _about_ this.”

Elsa had nowhere to run to, with Anna lodged firmly behind her and the ceiling just above her head, and Anna took full advantage of that by pinning her to the wall.

“And maybe once it’s all said and done you’ll go the fuck to sleep.”

Elsa coughed. “I–” she seemed to realize she couldn’t escape this. “I’m sorry. For running away, without a word.”

Anna nodded. “Yeah?”

“A-and for–” Elsa gulped. “F-for kissing you. In that game. I’m sorry.”

Now, it was Anna’s turn to stiffen. This wasn’t exactly what she expected to hear.

“ _What_?” she asked, tightening her grip around Elsa’s waist.

Elsa shifted, as much as her hold allowed her to. “Don’t make me say it again,” she whined, pleading, her hand going over the arm draped around her.

“No, please, do say.”

“Anna–”

“ _Say it_.”

“I’m sorry I kissed you,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry that you– that I– I _enjoyed it_.”

There it was. Something new.

“You did?”

Elsa nodded. “I couldn’t just–” her voice got stuck in her throat, and she fell silent for a few seconds. “I’m a horrible sister.”

Anna nodded back. “You are.” She could feel Elsa freeze in her place again, and by now she was as stiff as a marble statue. Anna feared she might spontaneously collapse into a black hole the next time she said something. “Not for kissing me, though.”

Elsa whimpered.

“I liked it too.”

Elsa whimpered louder.

“I _didn’t_ like you leaving,” Anna continued. “And disappearing.” She tightened her grip again, Elsa’s ribs biting painfully into her forearm. “Without a word.” She moved so close to her ear her lips were grazing it as she spoke. “For _seven years_ , Elsa.”

Elsa’s hand on top of her arm was now holding on like she was the last thing that tethered her to reality.

“I am so sorry,” Elsa said, _again_ , and Anna just rolled her eyes. “I shouldn’t have– I was _scared_ , Anna.”

Anna huffed. “What, _you_ were scared?” she asked, making sure every whispered word conveyed as much of her anger as it should. “How do you think _I_ felt? You left me. Alone. _Completely_ _alone_.” At one point, her teeth grazed Elsa’s skin, but she couldn’t care less about that. “I was _fifteen_.”

Elsa just swallowed, and Anna could feel the motion reverberate in her throat.

“But it doesn’t matter now,” Anna continued, Elsa’s hair tickling her nose with every breath she took. “You’re coming to New York, right?”

Elsa nodded weakly.

“Were you planning to tell me?”

No response.

“Thought so,” Anna whispered bitterly. “You know what, I’m glad Kristoff invited you. At least I got to see that you’re alive.”

She made a move to turn around again, but Elsa’s hand on her arm held on steady.

“Let me go.”

“Can you–” Elsa’s fingers circled around her wrist, not terribly tight. “Y-you said… you liked it too?”

Anna rolled her eyes. “That’s what you took away, really?” She tried to yank her arm free, but Elsa’s hold suddenly tightened.

“I– I ran,” Elsa whispered so quietly Anna could barely make out any words. “I ran because I was scared of what I did. Of how– _what_ it made me feel.”

Anna closed her eyes for a moment, and she was back there. On that couch. Hours after Elsa’s friends have left and the game was over, still holding on tight to her, their lips roaming wildly about their bodies, kissing every bit of exposed skin, exposing more skin to kiss, going back up for the lips, then back down for the neck, hands exploring areas sisters were not supposed to explore with each other–

Elsa packed up and left the next day.

She opened her eyes again.

“Yeah, I get that.”

“But you…?”

“Yeah.” At this point she gave up trying to turn, and just settled against her. “You’d have known if you _talked_ to me.”

It took some time to get over it herself. The shame she felt anytime she thought about Elsa’s lips soon turned into anger anytime she thought about her at all. The guilt for doing this to her, for crawling over her on the couch and continuing after there were no dares to be done and no one to witness them anymore turned to hurt because Elsa _left_ without as much as giving her a chance to explain herself.

“Oh.”

A few–literal, she could feel it hammering in Elsa’s chest–heartbeats passed in uncomfortable silence.

“So you–”

“Yes, Elsa, I did.”

“So, uh–”

“I’m still mad at you.”

Elsa let go of her arm, then stirred. Then, before Anna was even totally aware of what was happening, Elsa was facing her, blue eyes glistening with tears in the moonlight.

“I ran away,” she repeated, her whisper cracking to sobs. “Because I was afraid I hurt you. That I did something _terrible_ to you. That you’d hate me.”

Her hand found Anna’s, lying limply between them.

“And I thought you didn’t want to even _see_ me, ever again.”

This time, it was Anna who was rendered speechless, just lying there, watching the tears stream down Elsa’s temple and nose.

“I was scared of what you’d say to me.”

Anna let out a heavy breath. “I thought you just…” she trailed off, bringing her free hand up to wipe the bridge of Elsa’s nose. “That you thought _I_ did something wrong, and you didn’t want _me_ to talk to _you_. So I gave up trying.”

There it was. A standard, textbook case of apparent miscommunication that made her want to groan till the end of time. She’d thought stuff like this happened only in the movies. She _almost_ felt bad for being angry at all those characters.

Elsa let out a short, sad laugh. “Wow.”

“Yeah, wow.”

“So you don’t… hate me?”

“Are you kidding me?” Her hand slid to cup Elsa’s cheek. “I am incredibly mad at you, and now at myself, too, for not trying harder to get through to you. I wanna slap us both.” She wiped at the fresh tear brewing in Elsa’s eye. “But I _love_ you. I have always loved you. Even when I _wanted_ to hate you.”

The smile that spread on Elsa’s face was almost enough to make her forget all about her anger.

“I’m really glad Kristoff invited us both,” she said softly.

“Yeah.” Anna smiled, too. This much she could do. “But this isn’t worked out. We still need to talk.”

Elsa nodded, still smiling. “At least now I know we can.”

“ _Especially_ about New York,” Anna added, furrowing her brows, and relaxing them right away when she saw Elsa’s face fall. “But it can wait until morning.”

Talking. She wasn’t even sure how well that would go, and how well she’d keep her anger at bay, but they _could_ try. Like the rubble of Babel that they had to pick up, piece by broken piece, until there was enough to build a small house.

This was the cornerstone.

She watched Elsa close her eyes and lean into the soft pillow, letting out a shaky sigh. Led by her tired brain and years of longing, she leant in, before stopping herself abruptly just an inch away from Elsa’s face.

“Is this okay?” she whispered, her lips almost touching Elsa’s nose at this point, and Elsa’s eyes shot back open again, wide and surprised. Anna immediately pulled away. “Shit, sor–”

Elsa’s hand was at the back of her head in an instant. “No, wait–” she moved closer in, biting her lip, eyes dashing between Anna’s.

The longing part of her brain winning the internal struggle, Anna closed the distance between them, leaning down to meet her with a chaste, uncertain kiss. Once she felt Elsa relax a bit, she deepened it. Elsa’s lips were as soft as she remembered, and she let out a tiny gasp when Anna, in a surge of bravery, parted them with her tongue.

This was wrong. This was exactly what she’d beat herself over for years, the way this single kiss made her entire body light up. Like a lightning bolt going down her spine. An adrenaline shot straight to the heart. Molten iron in her stomach.

But this wasn’t a stupid game anymore, she was not a kid, and she was too happy to have her back, lying beside her in Kristoff’s tiny, single bed to be able to give a single shit about that now.

She pulled away and looked at her again, trying to gauge what Elsa could be thinking about, but there was just that beaming smile on her face again.

“We’ll talk,” Anna assured both Elsa and herself. There was hope. “In the morning, okay? We’ll figure this out.”

Elsa hummed in agreement before placing another soft kiss on Anna’s lips.

“But now you have to sleep, or so help me God I’ll make you.”

Elsa laughed, then snuggled closer to her. She melded into Anna nicely, head tucked just below Anna’s chin, hips flush against hers, and one cold foot stuck between Anna’s ankles. Anna nuzzled into her hair with heavy eyelids, breathing in deeply as she felt herself slowly drift off.

Hope.

She didn’t miss Elsa whisper _I love you too_ into her chest.


End file.
